Why green building strategies stall—and how to unlock scale

16
Jun
2025
News Article certification conference ESG Future of Real Estate green buildings Poland sustainability Warsaw

by Property Forum | Report

At our Future of Real Estate 2025 conference in Warsaw, a panel of sustainability leaders delivered a compelling message: profitability and environmental responsibility are no longer at odds in real estate. The discussion explored how developers, retailers, and certification experts are navigating the practical realities of green building implementation, from setting decarbonisation targets to overcoming retrofit challenges and engaging tenants. The session highlighted that success hinges on scaling up data-driven interventions, fostering collaboration, and adapting to a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.


Moderator Eleni Polychroniadou set the tone by challenging participants to explore how businesses can maintain profitability while embedding sustainability into their core operations.

Vessela Valtcheva-McGee from GBCI Europe provided critical market insights, highlighting the transformative potential of green building practices. "Despite political changes and economic uncertainties, we see a substantial and constant allocation of funds towards climate funding," she explained. "China issuing its first sovereign green bond demonstrates that even countries not traditionally bound by green regulations are recognising the importance of sustainable development."

Dominik Uhe from Kaufland shared a pragmatic approach to decarbonization across their extensive retail portfolio. "We started our sustainability journey by setting clear goals, including reducing scope one and two emissions by 80% by 2030," Uhe noted. "Our strategy involves implementing low-hanging fruit solutions like LED lighting, refrigeration door installations, and gradually moving towards more complex interventions like heat recovery and renewable construction materials."

Magdalena Błądek from Apsys Polska emphasised the critical role of tenant engagement in achieving sustainability objectives. "We discovered that only 14% of energy consumption is under our direct control, with over 86% attributed to tenant activities," she revealed. "To address this, we've developed collaborative guidelines and a code of good practices, encouraging tenants to operate their premises more efficiently and align with our environmental goals."

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Latest news


New leases

  • Another fast-growing Polish company has picked Metropolitan Warsaw for its headquarters. Rock Capital, a leading retail park developer and investor in Poland, now occupies modern office space overlooking the Grand Theater and Moliera Street. The Rock Capital's new headquarters, designed by BIT CREATIVE studio and its founder Barnaba Grzelecki, spans 460 sqm of premium office space on the first floor.
  • The largest retail chain in Poland offering RTV/AGD equipment has leased over 4,200 sq m of modern space in the MLP Poznań logistics centre. Media Expert will start operating in the new location in July 2025. The company was advised by Cushman & Wakefield in the leasing process
  • Supeco, the discount format operated by the Carrefour Group, will open a new store spanning 1,300 sqm in FunShop Park Ploiești starting Q3 2025. With this new lease deal, Scallier’s retail project is now almost fully occupied.

New appointments

  • Former Taylor Wessing Counsel and Head of Real Estate Peter Malovec has joined CTP Slovakia as its new Head of Legal.
  • Matexi Polska is strengthening its management structure. Jesika Mackiewicz has joined the management boards of companies implementing residential projects in Warsaw. This manager, with over 10 years of experience in the real estate industry, will support Matexi Polska's continued growth in the capital market.
  • Elżbieta Majdan is joining the Property & Asset Management team at Savills Poland as an Associate Director. Elżbieta brings 15 years of experience in managing and commercialising retail properties, gained while implementing key projects on the Polish market.


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